Tech

Why Office for iPad Took 4 Years to Get Here

Microsoft just unveiled Office for iPad. The move makes complete sense. The iPad, after all, is by far the strongest and most popular tablet platform on the market today (although Android has been rising fast). Any software developer, including Microsoft, wants to offer an iPad version of their app.

So what took so long? Apple unveiled the iPad way back in January 2010 — more than four years ago. By summer that year, it was clear Apple had yet another hit on its hands, single-handedly creating the mass-market tablet category that every other hardware manufacturer was soon racing to enter.

The man behind Office for iPad said he was thinking about how Office would work on the tablet as soon as it was unveiled. Virtually every Office competitor, including Google, launched native apps for creating and editing documents on the iPad over the last four years. Microsoft appeared to be on the verge of launching Office for iPad back in 2012, but the rumored launch failed to happen. Former CEO Steve Ballmer later confirmed Microsoft was working on an iPad version, but that it was waiting for the touch-friendly version for Windows.

As it turned out, the iPad version came first, which, in light of Ballmer's comments, suggests it could have debuted even earlier. To understand why Microsoft waited so long to pull the trigger on Office for iPad, you have to understand the culture of Microsoft, and the company's strategy surrounding Windows 8.

Office's Ride Through Windows

Microsoft debuted Windows 8, which adapted Windows for the touch-first environment of tablets, in September 2012. A key part of the rollout was the Surface RT and other Windows RT devices. Microsoft gave every Windows RT device a free version of Office in an attempt to kick-start its tablet platform.

Development for Windows 8 began years before the launch — before the iPad launch, even. Long before anyone had heard of a Smart Cover, Microsoft was already hard at work on its tablet OS, and a strategy was taking shape. Microsoft announced it was building a version of Windows to run on ARM-based devices (like tablets) in January 2011, which eventually became Windows RT.

Because Windows had to be re-coded from the ground up to run on ARM processors, it was clear that apps made to run on older versions of Windows wouldn't work on Windows RT machines. That means no Quicken, no Acrobat, no Office. Windows RT tablets would run the new, touch-first apps only.

Problem: There weren't any new touch-first apps yet, and there probably would be very few at launch. To boost interest in its budding tablet platform, Microsoft decided to make Office the free toy in the Windows RT happy meal. Every Surface and Windows RT device would ship with the suite pre-installed.

At the same time, the Office team was building Office for iPad, it appears. Remember: Microsoft is a sprawling company, with many different divisions. While Steve Ballmer and Steven Sinofsky (neither of whom are with the company anymore) crafted the company's Windows 8 rollout, Office was slowly adopting a strategy that would see its apps spread to more platforms. OneNote, notably, came to the iPhone in early 2011.

However, a version of Office for the iPad, if launched before Windows 8, would have undermined the entire strategy behind the Surface and Windows RT. The fact that Windows RT devices gave buyers a "free" version of Office was their primary selling point, supposedly making up for the lack of support for legacy Windows apps. If the most popular tablet in the world already had Office, why would anyone buy a Surface?

Bye-Bye, Windows RT

Of course, things didn't work out so well for Windows RT. It turned out no one wanted to buy Windows RT tablets anyway, and every Windows manufacturing partner (except Nokia) has given up on the platform. It didn't help that the full Office 365 rollout didn't happen until months after the Surface launched, but it seems Windows RT was a dud with consumers, whether it had Office or not.

Also, with Ballmer being succeeded by Satya Nadella — a man who's been drinking the cloud Kool-Aid for more than a decade — any lingering cultural reluctance to open Office to more platforms was cast aside. As he made clear from today's event, Microsoft's strategy is Office everywhere — on every kind of device, from phones to PCs and everything in between.

Which led us to today. Office for iPad has probably been more or less ready for a while, but Nadella likely gave it the final push, countermanding Ballmer's assertion that the touch Windows version would come first.

Notably, there are serious technical challenges in creating touch Office (the Windows version connects to apps in a fundamentally different way than Windows 8's "contracts," for example), so it's very possible the Metro/Modern version of Office needs more shakedown before its official debut, even though Microsoft teased it about a year ago.

Office for iPad was ready, and with the de facto failure of Windows RT (there are really only two major products that still run the OS), Nadella saw no reason to hold it up any longer. If this launch confirms anything, it's that trying to use Office as "special sauce" for Windows was a colossal mistake. In his first public act as CEO, Nadella has corrected that mistake.

Hands on With Office for iPad

Office for iPad Sign In

You can use these apps for free and without signing in, but you won't be able to create or edit documents.

Office for iPad on Home Screen

Once installed, this is how the apps icons look on the iPad.

Word for iPad Start

This looks familiar.

Word for iPad Files

You can access your recent files (stored in the cloud, though some are cached locally), which are sorted by date.

Word for iPad Open

Or you can just view the files on your OneDrive account.

Word for iPad Interface

Word for iPad presents a clean, easy-to-understand interface. This is how it looks without the keyboard.

Word for iPad File Menu

There's no "Save" button on the Word for iPad menu, but you can find AutoSave

Word for iPad AutoSave

If you turn off AutoSave, you will see a large "Save" button under the "File" menu.

Word for iPad Insert

the Insert menu choice includes a wealth of options, including the ability to insert a hyperlink

Word for iPad Art Wrap

The app is fully capable of handling wrapping text around art and adjusting the layout on the fly as you move the art around.

Word for iPad Fonts

Say hello to some Microsoft Fonts on an iPad.

Word for iPad Shapes

Add shapes and lines to your iPad documents.

Word for iPad Bullets

Bullets work pretty much the same as they do in Office 2013.

Word for iPad Keyboard

Word for the iPad works just as well with the iPad's split keyboard option.

Word for iPad Spell Check

Spell check is always on (unless you turn it off and the concept of "reviewing" the document simply doesn't exist in Word for iPad.

Word for iPad Search Replace

This critical tool is relatively unadorned, but works like a champ.

Word for iPad Word Count

Yes, you can get the critical stats on your document.

Excel for iPad Start

Microsoft worked hard to make sure Office users could recognize the new Office for iPad apps at a glance. Hello Excel green.

Excel for iPad Template Options

Microsoft didn't skimp on Excel template options.

Excel for iPad

This looks so much like Excel 2013, that, at a glance, you might think your were looking at the desktop version. Of course, the super-trim Ribbon is a dead giveaway that you're not.

Excel for iPad Freeze Panes

It is hard to find a key feature that's not available on Excel for iPad. Hard to manage big sheets without Freeze Panes; glad it's here.

Excel for iPad Sum

Some quick stats on a big spreadsheet.

Excel for iPad Home

Select a whole column and do what you wish.

Excel for iPad Chart

Need a chart? Select your data and let Excel for iPad build it for you, either from its recommended charts or one of your choosing.

PowerPoint for iPad Start

Another recognizable Office Suite color.

PowerPoint for iPad Templates

The app has a healthy assortment of presentation templates.

PowerPoint for iPad Templates Bullets

If you want to put bullets in your presentation -- is there ever one without them? --PowerPoint for iPad has them.

PowerPoint for iPad Slideshow

Here are your presentation options. Wish "Airplay" appeared under here.

PowerPoint for iPad Large Anchors

Microsoft enlarged the control anchors on objects so they're easier to grab on Office for iPad's all-touch interface.

PowerPoint for iPad Image Control

There are lots of ways to manipulate and spice up your images, including adding a cheesy reflection.

PowerPoint for iPad Camera Roll

Yes, you can access iPad's camera roll through any of the Office for iPad apps. Unfortunately, you can't access the iPad's camera.

PowerPoint for iPad Table Insert

Need a table in your Presentation? Copy it in Excel for iPad and paste it into PowerPoint for iPad.

PowerPoint for iPad Magnifying Glass

Microsoft actually altered the iPad precise selection magnifying glass to make it easier to see more text.

What's Hot

More in Tech

What's New

What's Rising

What's Hot

Mashable
is a leading global media company that informs, inspires and entertains the digital generation. Mashable is redefining storytelling by documenting and shaping the digital revolution in a new voice, new formats and cutting-edge technologies to a uniquely dedicated audience of 42 million monthly unique visitors and 24 million social followers.